Cherry Cheer

I love when my family is on a schedule (doesn't happen very often).  I love spontaneity, but I also love predictability.  Recently, we have added something to our week that has become such a wonderful part of our schedule.  Every Thursday afternoon Dallin, Claire and I walk to the Cherry's house.  They are fabulous people, friends and members of our ward.  There is a trail that goes from our house to theirs and the kids love running up and down those hills (getting really dirty).   We arrive at the Cherry's home where Donna has prepared a wonderful afternoon for my kids.  She was an elementary school teacher years ago and I can tell from our visits with her that she was an incredible one.  Each Thursday has a theme...last week she taught my children about Noah's ark.  She mentioned the beautiful rainbow at the end of the account and we then got to watercolor our very own rainbows.  We then proceeded to have our traditional "tea" party with orange juice (spiked with Sierra Mist:)) and animal crackers to follow the Noah's Ark theme.  Yesterday, we learned about farm animals.  Donna (ie: Sister Cherry) read us an "Old McDonald had a Farm" book, we then sat around the craft table and drew a specific landscape of the farm.  Dallin colored a vegetable garden and a place for the dogs to run wild.  Claire was in charge of coloring the horses trough and chicken coop.  I made a field for the sheep and goats, and Donna made a great place for the pigs to roll around.  We then placed a whole bunch of plastic animals in their correct "home" on the farm.  The kids sure loved this.  It was then time for our "tea" party (Claire adores this part with Donna's little tea set).  We had jello jigglers in the shapes of cows, ducks and chickens with some goldfish crackers on the side.  Our "tea" was chocolate milk (from the chocolate cows of course :)).  Such creativity and I am so grateful for the time and effort she puts into helping my kids enjoy their Thursday afternoons.  It is a part of our schedule that we all look forward to!

*As you can see, Claire also adores the Cherry's dog Shadow!

Hard-working Husband

Last night, Peter and I attended a wonderful dinner at Ruths Chris Steakhouse in Palm Springs for Peter's POA (Paths of Achievement) graduation.  I didn't realize what a big deal it really was for him to graduate...approximately 60 Merrill Lynch advisors were hired on and only 5 completed the program in 2007.  I am really grateful for all of Peter's hard work and determination to finish (and he got his CFP license in the middle of it all, if I may brag for a second).  Not only did we partake of an incredibly delicious meal, Brent (Peter's amazing boss) presented beautiful trophies to each of the graduates as well as one of Brent's favorite motivational books and a gorgeous leather-bound notebook.  The "supportive wives of the hard-working graduates" even received some beautiful roses.  As Brent went around the room to present the trophy and gifts, he said some wonderful things about each graduate.  I was really impressed at how well he knows Peter.  The stories and attributes shared about him were spot-on.  A lot of people know Peter for his quick sense of humor and for being a jokester, but those who really know him are aware that he is incredibly determined, focused, goal-driven, and would do anything for those he cares about (including his clients...which is why he is so loved at work).   What a great evening we had and how grateful I am for such a hard-working husband.

*I completely forgot to take a picture at dinner, so this is us afterwords in a gas station parking lot...sorry, but it's all I've got:).

Oh Yeah Baby!

I had my first doctors appointment yesterday and it was all good news:

- there is a baby inside of me

- it is a single rider (not double like many had wondered)

- the heart beat was great

- there are two arms, two legs and a giant head 

- I am a week and a half ahead of what we thought

All-in-all it was a great appointment and (after a few scares this week) it appears that everything  is okay...here's to the next leg of this pregnancy journey!

p.s. if you need help deciphering the photo above, the head is on the left hand side and the little legs are on the right.  The white areas are bones forming.  Grow, baby, grow!

Ballerina Baby

Claire found this ballerina skirt hanging in her closet today and it was a "must wear".  She demanded that I take pictures of her twirling (which turned into a funny game of repeatedly hitting her head against the wall... hence the laughing pictures).   I just can't get over how old she looks... isn't it amazing how kids can change so quickly?  It reminds me to be a little more patient and take a lot more pictures cause the baby stage doesn't last forever.  Thanks Mom for the cute leotard and thanks Claire for the extensive photo shoot!

Napoleon Dallinite

Not much phases my Dallin.  One Christmas, we were visiting my parents and went to their ward's Christmas program.  The primary children were called up to the stand to sing their Christmas songs and Dallin (3) hopped off my lap and walked right up to the front to sing with this foreign primary.  He didn't know the songs, but boy did he try.  No fear.  

 Last night we had our ward primary talent show and my Dallin was not scared to participate at all.  There were lots of great performances: singing, hula dancing, silly skits, trumpet playing, dramatic performances... and then there was Dallin.  I asked what he would like to do for the talent show (knowing quite well that he would be up for it) and he responded without hesitation "breakdancing"!!!!  He practiced busting out his moves (with a little choreography help from me at the end) and his performance was so great (and hilarious).  He walked right on stage, behind the curtain, stood there in the middle calmly waiting to be introduced... no fear.

   Hope you enjoy his "breakdancing" as much as we did (he didn't get to do his cool spinning moves on the ground cause the stage was carpeted, but he managed to improv his way through the song pretty well).  Here's our little Napoleon (you can push pause on our music playlist at the bottom of our blog to hear Dallin's music better)...

Love Day

"Kisses are the messengers of love" 

-Danish Proverb

Don't forget to plant one on the ones you love today... Happy Valentines Day! 

Shark Hair

This past fall, Dallin played on the Sharks soccer team.  A few of the boys liked to spike their hair up in a faux hawk to look like a shark fin for the games (thanks little Spencer for the idea).  Dallin loved doing this, especially when he got to put green color on the tips.  This was months ago and he still loves this hair-do more than ever.  He got a haircut on Thursday and the stylist cut his hair on an angle so his "shark fin" would be even more pronounced.  Boy does he think he is cool!  Long live shark hair (well, maybe not forever).

Wonderful Weekend

Last week, I decided to make the trek to Utah to attend President Hinckley's funeral. I was fortunate enough to get some "extended family tickets" to his funeral and that was my cue to go. This decision was made on Wednesday morning. Peter was going to come with me but later on that day decided he really needed to stay at home. I went to mutual that night really nervous to make the drive with Dallin and Claire all by myself the next morning. I then saw Ali (one of our favorite babysitters and an amazing 15 year-old) in the hall. I asked her if she wanted to drive with me to Utah the next day, she asked her mom (another one of my favorite people), called me at 10 p.m. to say okay and I picked her up that next morning at 7:30. What a blessing she was to me on this trip. She picked up the kid's toys when they dropped them, she put bandaids on pretend owies, she watched the kids while I put gas in the car or ran to the restroom, she even caught the chewed up candy (that Claire didn't want) in her hand. I don't know what I would have done with out her. The trip to Salt Lake was wonderful and we had an absolutely amazing weekend there. Here are some of our unforgettable memories:

Thursday-

-Had dinner with my brother, Dave, in Provo (the kids were so excited to see him).

-Stayed the night with the Sipes in their beautiful home in Sandy. The kids had a hard time going to sleep with all the fun things to do there.

Friday -

-Played in the snow that morning and then got ready to attend President Hinckley's viewing.

-Dave and Jen (my cute sis) met us at the Sipes and we drove to Salt Lake.

-Met up with Milo Wright (was my sunday school teacher and is a good friend of the family from Washington who now lives across the street from the Conference Center).

-Stood in line (and sat in the Conference Center) for 4 hours before we were taken the the hall of prophets to see our beloved prophet. My sweet children were wonderful as we waited for what must have been an eternity to them. The 4 hours waiting was absoulutely worth the 15 seconds we had to walk past our prophet and pay tribute to him. Tears filled my eyes as I passed the casket and Dallin asked why I was crying. I told him it was because I love President Hinckley so much and will really miss him. My sweet Dallin then got huge tears in his eyes as he saw the prophet and said "I love him too, Mom." My trip was complete.

-After this incredible experience for all of us, we went back to the Wright's apartment and were able to visit with Milo and Maria for a bit (they sure are wonderful)!

-When we arrived back at the Sipes home, there was a fabulous dinner waiting for us (of course made by Ann) and we had a fun evening of stories and dominoes.

Saturday-

-What an unforgettable day this was. Dave, Jen, Ali, Sydney (Ali's sister), and I were fortunate enough to get tickets and attend President Hinckley's funeral in the Conference Center (thank you Jim and Ann for watching the kids). Never in my life have I experienced the Spirit like I did that day. The funeral was amazing and I literally felt like I was being suffocated by the Spirit (in a really good way). After the funeral was over (and before the procession to the cemetary), I passed about 30 sister missionaries all crying with smiles on their faces and hugging each other. It made me so grateful for the opportunites we have to feel of the spirit with members of our faith and shed a few (or a lot) tears together. I was really touched to see their love for the prophet and each other.

-After President Hinckley's grave was dedicated and the funeral came to a close, a group in the audience at the Conference Center began to sing "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet." Just when I thought the day couldn't be any better (or any more emotional), I became overcome with emotion and gratitude for the opportunity I had to be there. When that song came to a close and we all began to quietly file out, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" as they walked out of the Conference Center. Never in my life will I forget this experience or the feeling of absolute surety that this man who has passed was the true prophet of the Lord. I would have walked from California to Utah to have had this experience.

-We drove back to Provo to stay with my Grandma Hinckley and always love being with her!

Sunday-

-Dallin, Claire, Jen and I attended Dave's singles ward at BYU and it brought back all sorts of fun memories. Dave bore a beautiful testimony and the kids were the absolute center of attention (since there are no kids in the single's wards). We had a great time playing in Jen's cute apartment and Dallin attended "Break the Fast" with Dave (and apparently learned how to flirt during a pretty great snowball fight).

-We had a wonderful dinner at my cousin Shaun's house and enjoyed playing games and watching the Superbowl together. Dallin and Alyson (cousin) had so much fun together as did Claire and Garrett (cousin).

Monday-

-We made the drive back home. Ali had a blast hanging out with Sydney and being a part of the college crowd over the weekend and it was so wonderful being able to reminisce with her about our amazing weekend. We listened on the radio to the announcement of the new First Presidency and it made me realize how grateful I am for the gospel and for our past and present prophet and I am also so grateful for the strengthing of my testimony this weekend. What a wonderful weekend!!

While we were waiting in line for the viewing, a photographer from a St. George newspaper took pictures of Dallin and my brother Dave playing "rock, scissors, paper." Here is the link to see the photo:
http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=G3&Date=20080201&Category=PHOTOGALLERIES10&ArtNo=802010801&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=6